Jon Stewart on Fox News and Its White Santa Debate (Video)

Shots were fired in the War on Christmas this week after a Slate.com article raised questions about Santa Claus’ racial background.

African-American blogger Aisha Harris wrote about how difficult it was to always see Saint Nick depicted as a white man while she was growing up and mentioned that it might make sense to have the fictitious character portrayed as a penguin rather than to keep exhibiting ethnic favoritism. That shocking suggestion led to a widely derided panel on Fox News last Wednesday featuring all-white guests and a bizarre disclaimer by host Megyn Kelly.

“By the way, for you kids watching at home, Santa just is white. But this person is arguing that maybe we should also have a black Santa,” Kelly assured her audience. ” But you know, Santa is what he is, and just so you know, we’re just debating this because someone wrote about it, kids.”

“Who are you actually talking to?” Stewart asked. “Children who are sophisticated enough to be watching a news channel at 10 o’clock at night. Yet innocent enough to still believe that Santa Claus is real. Yet racist enough to be freaked out if he isn’t white.”

“Christmas, it’s very essence is under constant siege by someone, something,” Stewart said.

He cut to footage of Kelly’s Fox News colleague Gretchen Carlson raging against a six foot Festivus pole made out of beer cans that has been erected in the rotunda of Florida’s state Capitol building. Festivus is the fictions holiday cooked up by George Costanza’s dad on “Seinfeld” as an alternative to Christmas.

“Can’t you just pretend it’s a place for the wise men to tie up their camels?” Stewart said. “You’re concerned there’s a six foot Festivus pole made out of beer cans? It’s Florida. You’re lucky there’s not a stripper named Christmas swinging on it.”